The present technology generally relates to an image sensor, an imaging apparatus, and an apparatus and method for manufacturing the image sensor. More particularly, the present technology relates to an image sensor, an imaging apparatus, and an apparatus and method for manufacturing the image sensor, capable of suppressing occurrence of noise components.
Recently, for an image sensor adapted to perform photoelectric conversion of incident light, a technique for concentrating incident light by on-chip lens or inner lens and guiding light confined within a waveguide to a sensor (light receiving portion) has been employed. Unfortunately, even in the image sensor having such a waveguide structure, light condensing characteristics may be deteriorated with pixel miniaturization.
For example, the diffraction limit of visible light with pixel miniaturization makes it difficult to guide light from a lens to a waveguide, to confine it within the waveguide, and to control diffracted light from a waveguide core portion and a light shielding material opening. More specifically, as pixel size becomes smaller, noise (smear or color mixture) due to light incident obliquely from adjacent pixels or noise due to diffraction of light from a waveguide core portion and a light shielding material opening may be increased.
In this regard, the structure adapted to be able to change a width of a light shielding material opening for each color has been considered (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-93081). In addition, the structure adapted to be able to change a width of a waveguide core for each color has been considered (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application